A 1/22 scale miniature model of Ikon was used for the space scenes, shot in front of a black tarp.

The scenes out in space are entirely computer graphics; the actors’ faces were added in digitally.

Eastwood’s team initially thought they’d need 40 special effects shots – they ended up with about 300.

The visual effects crew made a “test run” animation of the entire landing sequence. The shots were drawn out, then animated into a mini cartoon movie as a preview of the final product.

The space shuttle’s descent is 20 times faster than a commercial airplane.

Eastwood used actual footage of the space shuttle landing for the movie’s landing shots.

Trivia NotesSpace Cowboys (2000) is the 19th movie directed by and starring Oscar-winner Clint Eastwood. Eastwood says the movie gets its name from the men who pioneered the space program in the 1950s.

There were two Miss Octobers in 1958; one was Mara Corday, a longtime friend of Clint Eastwood.

A sonic boom is caused by traveling faster than the speed of sound, at a speed called Mach 1.

The record altitude for an ejection is 102,800 feet, set by Joe Kittinger in 1960.

The first chimp in outer space was actually named Ham, after Holloman Aerospace Medical Center. Ham was in space two-and-half months before the first human, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

NASA’s Mission Control is in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

Today, there are about 3000 satellites operating in orbit. The majority are from the U.S. and Russia.

The rate of decay is how quickly a satellite is losing altitude.

Poor eyesight is the number one disqualifier for aspiring astronauts.

In a recent study, astronaut beat out pro athlete and superhero as the dream job for kids 10 and under.

The B-2 Spirit “Stealth Bomber” was designed to penetrate anti-aircraft defenses. It first flew in 1989.

An object in geosynchronous orbit takes one day to orbit the Earth, matching the rotation of the planet.

Astronaut candidates undergo exhaustive training for two years before the final selection process.

The highest G-force a human has ever experienced is 46.2 G’s, a record set by John Stapp on a rocket sled.

A roller coaster can reach up to six G’s.

On real simulations, 15-20 things will go wrong to train the astronauts for worst case scenarios.

As of 2011, less than 50 female U.S. astronauts have gone into space.

At least 30 astronauts have graduated from MIT, including Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon.